In 2020, the fine wine market was a picture of calm, remaining remarkably stable while mainstream assets first swooned and then rocketed.
2020 was a positive year for the wine market, with all major Liv-ex indices showing gains. The Liv-ex Fine Wine 50, which follows the daily price movements the Bordeaux First Growths, rose 3.26% this year. The industry benchmark, the Liv-ex 100, which tracks the top wines from around the world, managed a rise of 4.65%. In November, the index reached its highest level in two years, while trade by value touched a ten-year high. The broadest measure of the market, the Liv-ex 1000, increased 1.31%.
Both the Liv-ex 100 (-1.06%) and Liv-ex 1000 (-1.32%) recorded their biggest dips for the year in March, on the news of the outbreak of Covid-19 in Europe and the national lockdown in many parts of the world. This hardly came as a surprise, as March 2020 saw billions wiped off equities across the globe, with the S&P 500 hitting a low on the 23rd. Fine wine was a picture of calm by comparison. Despite an early dip, the market quickly recovered and gathered momentum in the second half of the year. The industry benchmark has risen every month since June.
Not only have fine wine prices risen, but wine has offered unmatched stability in this year of volatility.
The chart below compares the Liv-ex 100 performance to financial and stock market benchmarks: Germany’s DAX, the tech-led S&P 500, the London Stock Exchange FTSE 100 and the Hang Seng. At the close of November, only the S&P 500 and the Liv-ex 100 were in positive territory for the year. The DAX was flat, the FTSE and Hang Seng remained in negative territory.
Liv-ex 100 vs equities year-to-date
What else happened in the fine wine market in 2020? Download your complimentary copy of our annual Market Report (in English or French) and find out.
